London South Bank University (LSBU) is working with charity Construction Youth Trust in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) to help the Trust gain a better understanding of the impacts and outcomes of their work.
The Trust runs training courses and short ‘taster' sessions of construction activities for young people across the UK.
These courses help build bridges between communities and the construction industry, exposing corporates to fresh new talent they might not otherwise get to see.
The Trust supports beneficiaries with work experience placements and site visits, allowing young people to see new career possibilities and direct their energies into productive positive futures. Construction Youth Trust is also committed to promoting diversity in the sector.
The aim of the partnership between Construction Youth Trust and LSBU, one of London's oldest and largest Universities, is to expand the activities of the Trust regionally and nationally by developing Social Return on Investment (SROI) activities to increase funding and the number of young participants who they work with. This partnership received financial support from the Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme (KTP).
KTP aims to help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within UK Universities and Colleges. KTP is funded by the Technology Strategy Board and the Welsh Government.
This project will prove the charity offers value for money in a very competitive environment, and SROI will be used to enable the Trust to describe and demonstrate the value of its work. The Social Return on Investment Network explain that SROI is a framework for measuring and accounting for a much broader concept and value that seeks to reduce inequality and environmental degradation, and improve wellbeing by incorporating social, environmental and economic costs and benefits.
The SROI project will provide a cost benefit analysis of the beneficial outcomes of the training and activities of the Trust. The University supervisor, Professor Alex Murdock, noted: "This project builds on our extensive experience in the third sector and in social enterprise and it represents the first initiative of this nature in Wales."
A Social Return on Investment Analyst, Jemma Bridgeman, has been appointed as part of the KTP. She is based at the Taff's Well office of Construction Youth Trust in South Wales and will work with the Trust's regional staff in Wales, London, Manchester and Birmingham.
Jemma commented: "I am excited about working on a project that will measure the real benefits of Construction Youth Trust. In an increasingly competitive environment it is important that charities can measure and describe the value of their work."
Diane Chamberlain, Business Development Manager of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships at LSBU, says: "We're very excited to be working with Construction Youth Trust to cement their status as a valued charity, and hope our research can go some way towards continuing the good work that they do for young people's careers."
Construction Youth Trust is a registered charity working with young people from all walks of life to help them access training, education and employment in the construction industry.
